Juliet Gilmore
by lindsayd94
Summary: What happens when Juliet meets Romeo at Chilton Academy? In this AU story, Juliet Gilmore, Rory's cousin, must contend with her budding feelings for Romeo Montag, the grandson of the Gilmore family's biggest rival while worrying about disappointing her strict grandparents, Emily and Richard. Love and lies compete at a typical Gilmore Friday night dinner.


Juliet Gilmore

**I**

"Juliet, what are you doing?" Rory Gilmore peered inquisitively at her cousins pale arm that was presently becoming more and more marked with pen ink.

"Oh, nothing." Juliet pushed her sleeve down quickly, hoping to hide the evidence of her distracted mind. Lately no matter what she did Juliet could not stop thinking about a boy she met on her first day at Chilton Academy. Normally, she would not even think to hide her feelings from her cousin Rory, they had become so close since they had been introduced this summer when Juliet discovered she would be going to the same school as her older cousin Rory. Before then Rory's mother Lorelei was an outcast of the family, and never brought Rory around to meet her extended family, so it was only through school that the two cousins began to get to know each other.

Rory waved Juliet's weird behavior off with a shrug and started talking about newspaper and how demonic Paris, the notorious student paper editor in chief, was for passing Rory over as an editor of the paper's political section.

"I am the ONLY one who pays attention to politics on staff, the other day I asked Louise her opinion on Barack Obama and she said that she didn't support terrorists!" Rory flung her hands in the air and waited for Juliet's typical nods of support, however Juliet was already staring out the window, preoccupied with thoughts about Romeo.

"Hello! Earth to Juliet, what is wrong with you lately?" Rory crossed her arms, waiting for a response and Juliet cast her nervous eyes around the Gilmore's messy living room. Just in time to save her from revealing her secret Lorelei burst through the front door, a frenzy of bags and curly brown hair yelling at the two girls to get ready for Friday night dinner at their grandparent's house. Rory turned her raised eyebrow at Juliet, which clearly indicated that this discussion wasn't over.

**II**

The trio arrived at the house of Richard and Emily Gilmore, their beloved, if not a little stuffy, grandparents. Lorelei and her mother Emily traded their typical snarky remarks at each other while Richard showered Rory with typical compliments about her last article in the school's newspaper. Juliet took this time to slip away upstairs and begin to focus on what she was going to do about this form of temporary insanity that was taking over her.

In her grandmother's master bathroom she glowered at her face in the mirror and began to talk herself out of what she knew was love at first sight.

"Juliet, Romeo is a Montag, a _Montag. _Literally the only family that your family hates more than anything in the world. This can NOT happen. Do you hear me? Never!" Juliet turned away from the mirror and slid down the side of the Jacuzzi tub. She absentmindedly rubbed her arm where she had written Romeo's name over and over in her curly cursive. Juliet closed her eyes and remembered how they had met, both waiting in the guidance office with screwed up class schedules. They began talking about how terrible their first days were, the first day of high school and they'll already be behind. Their conversation took a flirtatious turn and Juliet could not even remember what she had said, only the beautiful brown of Romeo's eyes and how they crinkled when he laughed. They had exchanged numbers and Juliet began fiddling with her phone, waiting for a buzz even though she had told him not to text her while she was at her grand parent's house.

All of a sudden Juliet heard a knock at the huge bay window of the master bedroom. When she went to investigate she could not believe what she saw, Romeo, standing in the middle of Emily Gilmore's English tea roses, smiling, with crinkled eyes up at her.

**III**

"Are you insane?" Juliet smiled down, trying hard to summon anger at the presence of the brown haired boy below the window.

"Probably! I can't stop thinking about you, please come down here!" Romeo peered up at her, while Juliet debated her options. The Montag family has been the bane of the Gilmore family's existence since her grandfather and Romeo's grandfather were boys. They had a thick rivalry as kids, and it only grew as they each became substantial members of the wealthy Connecticut community. Juliet turned over the idea in her mind, knowing that running off from a family dinner to be with Romeo would only win her disapproving looks from Rory.

Before Juliet knew what was happening she was cranking open the window, and slipping one small foot out into the night air.

"What are you doing?" Rory rounded the corner just in time to see Juliet begin her descent from the window. With just Juliet's head peeking through the window, her hands and feet clutched to the trellis Juliet began stammering,

"Just, getting some air because it got so hot inside and it's so cold outside and I just thought this window was here and there's this trellis and…" Juliet gave herself away and looked down behind her at a skittish Romeo. Rory approached the window and looked down, Romeo gave a weak wave up at her and in one swift movement Rory pulled Juliet back inside the bathroom.

"What is wrong with you? Don't you know what our family would do if they found out that this Montag guy was coming around, making you climb out of windows?" Rory looked at her young cousin, and recognized the same lovesick eyes that she had when she fell in love for the first time. A sudden wave of sympathy came over Rory and she almost allowed Juliet to go back out the window when she heard their grandmother summoning them to dinner.

"You and I are going to go downstairs, and we're going to eat the weird fancy food Grandma gives us, and then we are going to go home. We can talk about whatever this is then." Rory gripped Juliet's elbow and Juliet blinked the tears back from the corners of her eyes.

**IV**

Dinner was floating by for Juliet, she stared a wall and murmured responses to whatever it was that her grandmother was asking her about. Dessert was being brought out when Juliet's ears perked up at the sound of a doorbell.

"Who the, who would call on someone when it is clearly dinnertime, this is just ridiculous, Magda!" Emily Gilmore called to her newest maid to get the door while violently shaking her head at this show of impertinence. Magda flashed through the dining room, running for the front door, only to return with a very confused expression.

"Mr. Gilmore, a boy, he's here, says he needs to speak to you…" Magda gestured to the hallway and Richard, perplexed but intrigued, rose from the table. Juliet knew it was Romeo, and her heart pounded as tears fell from her eyes. She also knew her grandfather would throw him out of the house the second he said his last name, and then Romeo would never want to see Juliet again. It seemed like years went by as Emily and Lorelei peppered Juliet with questions about her behavior, and how she knew the boy at the door. Rory sat, motionless, not willing to give up her cousin's secret until she had to.

"Well, a very bizarre turn of events, Magda, bring another dessert we have a young man joining us this evening." Richard bounded back into the dining room in his typical stately fashion, a smiling young man trailing in behind him. "Emily, meet Romeo Montag, I know, a _Montag_, but he says his own grandfather isn't teaching him about finance the way he knows it should be taught, and came here tonight to request an internship at my firm!" Richard was clearly blinded by the idea of winning over his enemy's own grandson, and despite the odd circumstances readily accepted Romeo's explanation.

"Well then, Romeo, please do sit down, I'm sure you and Richard have plenty to talk about!" Emily smiled broadly, sharing in her husband's victory over the smug Montag family. Juliet gaped at Romeo as he took the seat across from her next to her grandfather, and Rory, trying to hide her laughing, excused herself from the table with Lorelei quickly trailing behind.

**V**

As they began clearing out of the dining room, Juliet still felt in shock at having Romeo Montag at her family's dinner table. Catching her eye and gesturing towards the hallway Romeo stole a few minutes alone with Juliet as her grandparents excitedly discussed their new triumph.

"Your family is going to disown you!" Juliet hurriedly whispered.

"I know, but as I was standing outside that window, I knew I had only one way of getting anywhere near you, and this is it."

"We won't be able to date, you know. A Montag as an intern, fine! But a Montag dating his granddaughter, he'd sooner throw us both out a window!" Juliet ran her fingers through her hair, thinking about all the ways this could go wrong.

"I know. But at least this way I'll be able to see you without sneaking around." Romeo grabbed Juliet's hand and held it in his, and Juliet looked away with embarrassment. He leaned down and kissed her hand, while she laughed at this show of ancient chivalry.

"You're such a nerd." Juliet grabbed her hand away and stood away from him as Rory and Lorelei entered the room eyeing them both knowingly.

"You. Car. Now." Lorelei began pushing Juliet through the door, and Juliet knew it was more with excitement than anything else. They yelled their goodbyes at Richard and Emily and left Romeo standing in the foyer, trying to look as serious as possible about his prospects as an intern at Richard's office.


End file.
